Interview with historical novelist Malcolm Colley

Today’s special guest is Malcolm Colley. We’re chatting about his new adventure/historical fiction novel, Gideon: The Boer Blood.

Bio:

Malcolm Colley was born in South Africa in 1942 and spent his teens of the 1950’s on a small farm just outside Naboomspruit in the Northern Province of South Africa, during which time he came to love the sounds, smells and sights of the bush.

Malcolm did his basic training with 1st Special Service Battalion in Bloemfontein and has happy memories of army life in the bush. He also spent twenty-five years training in martial arts. During his work in a steel mill and underground in a diamond mine, he yearned to be back in the bush and although his profession was Project Manager, his love of the bush remained.

It was during this time that the in-depth research into his first novel – Zachariah: The Boer Diamond – began. After a successful publishing, the research for the second work began. This, book number five, follows Gideon accused with the robbery of gold meant for payment of arms and ammunition for the Boer commandoes.

Malcolm now lives with his wife, Lorraine, in Horsham, England when not travelling back to South Africa as an excuse for research on his next book.

Welcome, Malcom. Please tell us a little bit about your latest release.

By 1902 the British war against South Africa, the so called “Boer War” was over. Paul Kruger, attempted to negotiate a deal with Holland and Germany for arms and ammunition in exchange for gold. The arms and ammunition reached the port of Lorenco Marques but the gold, sent by Kruger, went missing.

Into this chaos of the aftermath of the war, with men, woman and children trying to make it back to the farms, Gideon Barron, an Irishman born in South Africa is accused of helping to steal the gold. Wounded, he escapes but is followed and hunted by his fellow Boers for treason.

What inspired you to write this book?

The disappearance of Kruger’s gold has always intrigued me. There are many stories, myths and legends about the whereabouts of this treasure. In this work of fiction adventure, I have put forward one possibility. I grew up in this area amongst these people whose stories to their grandchildren in the lamplight around the kitchen table, tell of the gold that may have changed the course of the war, told with the bitterness against the English.

Excerpt from Gideon: The Boer Blood:

The eagle perched on the rock right at the top of the kopje and surveyed the horizon. It was the beginning of summer and, even this late in the evening, it was still hot. He was looking east and so had the setting sun at his back. He cocked his head left and right and the back again and ruffled his feathers.

The small dust cloud had been moving in his direction for a few hours now. With his excellent vision he could see that it was a man on a horse. The eagle cocked his head sideways. This man was sitting at an angle. The eagle had seen this way of sitting before and knew that this man wasn’t going to reach this kopje before he fell off. He could see the blood. Blood caked the front of his shirt and had pooled and coagulated around his belt. Blood excited him and he watched with interest. He didn’t eat humans nor did he eat dead animals but anything dying interested him.

The eagle dropped forward off the rock, dived for a few seconds and then opened his wings to catch the upward current to take him to five thousand feet. Not that he knew that it was five thousand feet but he knew what his ultimate hunting height was. He banked on the thermal and looked down on the rider. The rider was laying forward on the horse now.

What exciting story are you working on next?

My next book is the story of a young man who must come to terms with the fact that, if he is to save his marriage he needs to give up the working life that he loves as a mercenary. The story takes place in Africa in the 1980’s.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I don’t consider myself a writer but a story teller. I wrote my first book about thirty years ago but never got around to publishing it. It is only since I retired that I have been writing full time. My day is taken up with reading for research, which sometimes turns to reading for pleasure when I suddenly come across something interesting, and then fitting the research into a story.

Anything else you’d like to share with the readers?

I spent my teens of the 1950’s on a small farm just outside Naboomspruit in the Northern Province of South Africa, during which time I came to love the sounds, smells and sights of the bush. I did my army basic training with 1^st Special Service Battalion in Bloemfontein and have happy memories of army life in the bush. I also spent twenty-five years training in the martial arts. During my work in a steel mill and underground in a diamond mine, I always yearned to be back in the bush.

Links:

Twitter | Amazon

Thanks for joining me today, Malcolm.

Interview with mystery author Denise Hartman

Readers, I'm happy to introduce mystery author Denise M. Hartman to you today. She's sharing a bit about her writing, her new novel, Killed in Kruger, and more. 

You can find out more through her blog and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Bio:

Denise's background in journalism and television production has influenced her writing style and habits, while living overseas for several years, currently in Madrid, Spain, gives Denise's imagination new sites and sounds for her mysteries on a day in and out basis. She is a member of Sisters In Crime, including having been the president of her hometown Kansas City Partners in Crime chapter. Denise has a passion for reading, books, travel, dogs, tea, and teapots not necessarily in that order.

Welcome, Denise. Please tell us about your current release, Killed in Kruger.

Tabitha Krans arrives to discover the veldt of South Africa’s Kruger Park seems to have swallowed up Uncle Phillip. Tabitha’s afraid her writing career has disappeared along with him and dire things lie in wait for her as her mother had predicted. Uncle Phillip’s connections are her only link to travel writing and his photos are crucial. When he turns up dead, she wants the truth. Dead men don’t speak but photos Phillip took evoke strange reactions in park authorities. Her nosing around turns up suspicions of human trafficking, poaching and covert investigations but not many answers. South Africa holds dark secrets and deep beauty but it doesn’t want to give Tabitha the truth. She keeps prying until someone believes she’s a threat in need of elimination.

What inspired you to write this book?

In 1997, I got a job with a nature photographer doing writing and graphics. He was a college president before he retired to do photography and loved challenging me to expand my horizons. When he went to do a photo safari for 16 weeks all over the southern tip of Africa, he challenged me to come during some part of that trip. I did and we photo safari-ed Kruger National Park in South Africa and Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. It was a wonderful experience. I’d done a ton of research setting him up for the trip and out of all that came this book. However, both of us came back from the trip alive .

What exciting story are you working on next?

Right now, I’m really enjoying a character named Blanche Binkley. She is the protagonist in my Work In Progress tentatively titled Nosy Neighbors for release next year. I’m liking Blanche so much I’m thinking of making her into a series instead of a stand-alone book. She certainly gets herself into lots of tricky situations in Florida with neighbors, the police, and a human trafficking ring. It adds up to a good story.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I loved the mystery stories of childhood and in the 5th grade a group of us were challenged to write a play and perform it. We wrote a murder mystery and I knew that’swhat I wanted to do with my life. I studied communications and worked as a reporter straight out of college, so that’s the first time in my life it was a paying gig for me. When my short stories started getting published the last 10 years, I finally grasped that I could be an “author” as well as a “writer.”

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Well, yes and no. All my jobs since college have involved writing in some capacity. So in a way I write full time, but fiction has to wait for the evening hours and weekends right now. My day job at the moment is as a script writer and production manager/producer for short films for a non-profit group. I’m living in Spain and in the summer it is very hot when I get home from work. Too hot to cook or exercise, so I sit under a hot laptop and write until the sun gets low enough on the horizon to do something else.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I feel like I need to write 1,000 words when I sit down and I like it when my chapters are 800-1200 words. It’s short actually but it feels like it keeps things moving. Once I’ve written 1,000 I might stop for the day unless I’m on a roll. I’m disappointed if I don’t get to 1,000 – sometimes it’s been several hours but between research and figuring out the story arc I just couldn’t move faster that day.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Up until 5th grade, I thought I wanted to be a hairdresser which if you knew my hair habits would make you laugh.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I just lost a friend to cancer in July. A young friend. He had lived life fully – he had practiced his art (painting) even though it meant doing it on the weekends late at night. I’m so proud of that and the inspiration he gave me to pursue writing novels which has been my big dream. I encourage you to take a baby step toward a dream you have, whatever that might be. I have never regretted my efforts and you won’t either.

Thanks for visiting, Denise. Keep us updated on your WIP, especially when they are released!

Readers, here's the direct Amazon link for Killed in Kruger.